To Be Your Lady
by rawrimmabear
Summary: While traveling with the deadheads Lindsay writes Nick a letter and as a result they must face their feelings for eachother head-on when she return to Chippewa.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** If you recognize it I do not own it. This is my first foray into fanfiction because I am obsessed with the Nick/Lindsay pairing and I was so unhappy with the open-ended way the series ended with them.

**Chapter Soundtrack:** Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros- Home

Lindsay Weir had to give credit where credit was due. The only reason she was still alive at the end of her first day back in Chippewa was because of the pure genius and acting skills of Kim Kelly. After having a minor meltdown in the van and second guessing her decision to ditch Academic Summit for a glorious two weeks of following the deadheads, Kim had devised a plan to keep her best friend from getting into trouble at the end of the trip. The group stopped by a payphone about ten miles outside of town and the burned out blonde called The University of Michigan posing as quite a convincing Jean Weir, informing the directors in charge of Academic Summit that poor Lindsay had come down with mono and would be unable to attend. Lindsay had come up with plenty of stories to tell her parents about what was sure to have been an extremely boring two week confinement with the brightest teenage minds in Michigan, and was shocked when she turned in for the night and her family was still none the wiser about how she had really spent the first part of her summer vacation. As she lay in bed Lindsay stared up at her ceiling, thinking about her last conversation with Nick. This had become a regular occurrence over the last few weeks and she bit her bottom lip thinking about what he thought of the letter she had written him the week prior or if he had even read it. When she had settled down to pour her heart out onto the wrinkled loose-leaf paper, the words she held in her head would not pour from her pen for fear of rejection. Nick had moved on, he was with Sarah now and he had even stopped smoking pot for her. She wanted him to be happy, and just could not bring herself to write down the entire truth. Instead, what had come out was a two page letter about how happy she was for him and how much she missed him and thought he would enjoy life on the road, going from city to city and meeting people from anywhere and everywhere.

At that same moment, not too far away, Nick Andopolis sat in his basement and re-read the letter Lindsay had written him for the millionth time. As far as he knew he was the only person she had even attempted to contact during her brief escape from suburban monotony. He grimaced for the millionth time as he reached the part in the letter when she describes how happy she is that he found Sarah. Things had not been going entirely pleasantly the last few weeks and Sarah's clinging nature had begun to grate on his nerves. He supposed it was only karma that he would find someone like that…treating him the same way he had treated Lindsay during their brief relationship. It made Nick realize what he had done wrong in the first place and he only wished that he could go back in time and repair the damage he had done to his chances of ever being with Lindsay Weir again. He would have never snuck over to her house in the middle of the night just to see her face, he would have just kissed her like he wanted to instead of singing her that stupid song, and now he was even thankful to Ken for smashing his guitar when he almost performed the now infamous 'Lady L' for her. He wondered if she had returned home yet, apparently Kim had shown up on Daniel's doorstep that afternoon which had caused his friend to bail on their plans and proceed to, what Nick assumed anyways, have a passionate marathon of makeup sex.

The following morning, Lindsay awoke feeling a sense of melancholy at finding herself in her warm bed and not in the back of Sam's van or under the clear blue sky. She welcomed the hot shower and alone time she was able to enjoy for the first time since she had left home and all reservations she had once harbored about returning home on time melted away. It was late in the afternoon and she was a quarter of the way through Kate Chopin's _The Awakening_ which she had been assigned as summer reading when she heard the phone ring and her mother's cheerful voice piercing the silence informing Lindsay that Kim was on the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" she greeted as she picked up the phone in her room and set her book to the side.

"Meet us at the park, some shit is going down and you do not want to miss this," Kim practically beamed through the payphone before hanging up on her best friend. In an attempt to be intimate, Sarah had reached her hand into Nick's back pocket and found what she had initially assumed to be an old cheat sheet from school, but on closer inspection realized that it was a letter from none other than her rival for Nick's affection- Lindsay. Initially, he had tried to downplay the letter. There was nothing particularly damning about anything Lindsay had written to him. If anything her confession at how happy she was that Nick and Sarah were together should have made the revelation a good one. Where the situation took a turn for the nasty were any of the circumstantial reasons he would be carrying it around in his back pocket. The hushed argument had quickly escalated into a full out screaming match with the queen of disco crying and beating the taller boy's chest with her fists furiously as he tried to restrain her.

By the time Lindsay had reached the park, the scene was over and Sarah had run home after melodramatically telling Nick that she hoped he would die alone. When the group, which consisted of Daniel, Kim, Nick, Ken, and Amy, spotted the mathlete turned freak the air became thick with tension. The only person not sitting awkwardly at the picnic table was Kim Kelly who smiled brightly at Lindsay.

"Hey, slutbucket!" the blonde greeted cheerfully with an over the top wave of her hands as Nick buried his face in his hands.

"Hey, guys, what's going on?" Lindsay asked shyly, giving the crew a slight wave as she sat down next to Kim.

"Disco Bitch just had a conniption over your little love letter," Ken replied in his usual deadpan tone and rolled his eyes. He was thankful that Sarah was finally gone, as far as the curly haired singer of Creation was concerned, the month Nick had been with Sarah had been a month too long for him. Lindsay slapped her hand over her mouth in shock and immediately turned her attention to her ex-boyfriend.

"It wasn't a love letter! I'm so sorry, Nick! I didn't realize- I would have never-" she stuttered, finding it difficult to find the words she truly did not mean. It was true that Lindsay was sorry for causing Nick to break up with the one girl who had proved to be a positive influence on his life, but that was where the sympathy ended. "But…I sent that letter a week ago, why did she freak out over it now?" Lindsay arched an eyebrow as she did the math in her head, completely missing the idea that Nick would have actually carried her silly little note on his person.

"Forget about it, really," Nick shook his head and smiled sadly up at Lindsay. "You did me a solid, actually…" he trailed off, unsure how to even complete that thought. "I was trying to figure out how to break up with her all night," he muttered his confession more to the table than any of his friends.

"Well you certainly got her off your ass now," Daniel chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Kim's shoulders and pulled her into his chest playfully.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** If you recognize it, I don't own it.

**Chapter Soundtrack:** Interpol- Obstacle 1

Lindsay lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling as Kim sat on the bedroom floor painting her toenails. The blonde burnout was droning on about the latest fight she was having with Daniel, it was always the same with those two but the brunette had to admit that she was unable to imagine them with anyone else. Kim and Daniel's arguments seemed to excite them and keep a special spark in their relationship. Lindsay had to admit that she was not paying much attention to what her best friend was saying, her thoughts taken hostage by a certain six-foot-four boy who she was unsure if she even wanted to actually be with. It had been obvious to everyone but Lindsay that Nick was still in love with her even when he was with Sarah, but now that the two had broken up he was back to his saccharine sweet self. She had to admit that something had changed since before she left Chippewa with the deadheads, though she was unable to pinpoint what it was exactly.

"Are you even listening to me, brain?" Kim rolled her eyes and gave Lindsay a snarky look. Lindsay blinked a few times as she realized that the blonde on the floor was addressing her and she gave Kim a sheepish smile and rolled over onto her stomach.

"Sorry, Kim…there's just a lot on my mind," she confessed. There was never any use trying to outright lie to Kim Kelly, she always had a way of figuring out the truth and putting two and two together.

"Yeah, what's going on with you two? I thought for sure you'd kiss and make up after Disco Bitch left," Kim shook her head and rolled her eyes. Lindsay may have been repressed before, but she had seen a distinct change in her and Kim was confused as to why her best friend was still playing coy with a guy who obviously loved her.

"Kim!" Lindsay whined and threw a pillow at her friend. "We're just friends, that's all," she stated in a matter of fact tone. "Besides, he doesn't even like me like that anymore," she snorted indignantly which was countered by another roll of Kim's blue eyes and an exasperated sigh as she turned her attention back to her toes.

"Daniel says he's been carrying that note you sent him in his pocket like a sad puppy since he got it," Kim stated. She had never been one to keep her mouth shut about anything with the exception of the time Lindsay was thinking of breaking up with Nick.

"No way! He really cared about Sarah, I mean come on! You know he stopped smoking pot for her, right?" Lindsay arched an eyebrow as she tried to deny the implications of Kim's statement.

"He quit smoking pot for _you_, stupid," Kim snorted and shook her head. "For someone so smart you sure can be dumb, Linds," she chuckled. "I mean, seriously, the guy was obviously just dating her to make you jealous, and then he stops smoking pot to get your attention and make you think he changed or some shit," Kim set the bottle of nail polish to the side and turned her attention back to her friend who lay on the bed speechless. "Honestly I think he's a little different now," she shrugged her shoulders and rested her head on the edge of the mattress.

"What do you mean? He seems like the same old Nick to me," Lindsay wrinkled her nose. He had been giving her the cold shoulder before she left town and while he had let up a little bit, Nick Andopolis was far from the overwhelming person he had been before.

"I dunno, he's just…different," Kim shrugged her shoulders and inspected her fingernails.

Meanwhile in the Andopolis basement, Nick, Daniel, and Ken sat on the couch and listened to The Who. Nick had been almost surprised at his own behavior since Lindsay's return. He did not feel the urge to lay his feelings out in the open like he had before, but his affection for her was still as unwavering as it had been since he met her. She was still his muse in songwriting, but nothing so terrible as "Lady L", which the guys had yet to let him live down.

"Gotta hand it to ya, Nick, I'm a little proud that you've managed not to jump down Lindsay's throat yet," Daniel smiled sleepily as he leaned back into the couch. After reading the letter that she had sent him and seeing the way the two exes had interacted in the weeks since Lindsay and Kim had been back in town, Daniel was a little surprised that the former mathlete had not come crawling back to his friend yet.

"I just wish I hadn't messed up so bad the first time around, y'know?" Nick shrugged his shoulders sadly. "There's no way she'll give me another chance. We're just friends," he added in a defeated tone. Ken rolled his eyes and let out a groan, burying his face in his hands.

"I am so sick of you two," he confessed. "Just fucking…I dunno…do _something_, anything," Ken advised, he hated watching soap operas on television and hated watching them unfold in real life even more. At least on television he could change the channel to something more interesting, when his friends played this constant game of cat and mouse he just got annoyed.

"Like what?" Nick arched an eyebrow and leaned forward. He had a feeling that despite her insistence of the contrary, that Lindsay still cared about him. He was completely at a loss as to what to do about it without making her run away again.

"You could start by asking her to hang out?" Ken suggested in his usual deadpan.

"But no singing," Daniel added and pointed a finger at Nick. "I'll stop hanging out with you for real if you pull that shit again," he chuckled lazily. It all seemed simple enough to Nick, but he had to make things right this time. If he was even afforded a second chance he doubted Lindsay would give him another if he screwed up again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. This is completely born out of my frustration at the open-ended way the series ended and my need to tie up loose-ends in a neat little package.

**Chapter Soundtrack: **We Are Scientists- Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt

Nick paced back and forth in his room, occasionally stealing a glance at the phone as he chewed on a hangnail pensively. He had called Lindsay numerous times before, there was absolutely no reason to be nervous now was there? He was thankful that Daniel and Ken were absent for this embarrassing display of insecurity since they would have ended up calling Lindsay and embarrassing him in the process. No, he had to do this now or he would lose his nerve forever. Before he could talk himself out of calling her, Nick picked up the dark green phone and punched in her phone number like he had done about a million times before.

Lindsay had just finished doing her math homework when the phone rang. Her parents were out of town for their twenty year high school reunion and Sam was at Bill Havershuck's house for the night. She had not told her friends about the freedom, having learned her lesson the last time they invited the entire school and then some over to her house for a disastrous kegger, not to mention the fact that she promised Sam she would not put him in that situation again.

"Hello?" she asked, setting her textbook and notes aside to perch herself up against the headboard.

"Hey, Linds, uh…what's up?" the familiar rumble of Nick's voice replied making Lindsay sit straight up, her heart lodging itself firmly in her throat.

"Oh, hey, Nick. I'm…just hanging out I guess. What about you?" she answered sheepishly, blushing at her own awkwardness.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. We haven't really had much of a chance to catch up since you got back into town and I-" he began, his hands were sweating and he was on the verge of surrendering and inviting the whole gang to go for a drive or something when his goddess in an army jacket cut him off.

"I'd love to, why don't you come over here," she interrupted and immediately winced at her eagerness, wondering if she should have toned it down a notch. For all she knew he may have wanted to make plans for some other time, a million what if's ran through her head in that moment of silence on the line before Nick managed to squeak out an affirmative response.

About fifteen minutes later a knock at the door nearly made Lindsay jump out of her skin before she stood up and ran her slender fingers through her long brown hair. She was unsure why she felt the need to make sure she looked good for Nick. He was over her and probably still pining after Sarah since apparently the two had the misfortune of being in three of the same classes this year. As soon as she opened the door Lindsay Weir felt her heart stop for a moment at the sight of Nick Andopolis. There was not anything particularly different about him tonight. He was still the same old Nick she had fallen in love with the exception that he was not smothering her with affection like he used to.

"Hey, come on in," she smiled shyly as she stood aside to let the six-foot-four boy enter the house. He smiled sheepishly down at her and ran his fingers through his hair before realizing how quiet the house was.

"Where're your parents?" he asked, knowing that a serendipity that the elder Weirs would be out of town would be just too good to be true.

"They're out of town for the weekend," Lindsay blushed as she shut the door and looked up at Nick with a look of longing in her eyes that he knew he had to be imagining. "Can I uh…get you something to drink?" she asked, snapping back to her senses as she led Nick over to the couch.

"Nah, I'm good," he replied, sitting down next to her and leaning back into the sofa. "Look, Lindsay…" Nick sighed and leaned forward a moment to bury his face in his hands as he searched for the right words. The brunette sitting beside him felt her mouth go completely dry as she waited for what he would say to her, unable to breath in the anticipation. "I know that you're way out of my league. You're smart, funny, beautiful…I'm not even sure why you hang out with us," he began, biting his lip as he continued. Normally he would have rehearsed a confession like this, but Nick had decided to do things differently this time, knowing it could not possibly go any worse than his former planned professions of his love had gone. "But I do know that I'll always be in love with you, Lindsay Weir," he blurted out, his face turned down to his shoes for fear of seeing the look of horror he imagined on her face. The moment he allowed himself to look up at her, Lindsay wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

"I love you too, Nick Andpolis," she confessed after breaking the kiss for a moment. Nick smiled and kissed her softly as Lindsay stood up and took him by the hand to lead him to her bedroom.

**-TBC-** If you loved it, hated it, felt indifferent towards it, please review. I'm far from done with this and I'd like to know what ya'll think.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

**Chapter Soundtrack: **Ima Robot- Loaded Love

As Lindsay lay in her bed, wrapped safely in her comforter and in the arms of a lightly snoring Nick Andopolis, she wondered why she had taken things so far. When she had first started dating Nick last year she was so worried that he would rush her into bed, but last night had been all her. She had no idea that he was also a virgin until right before the moment of truth when he hesitated, unsure of whether or not he was ready for that next step. For some reason, knowing that he was just as inexperienced as she was made Lindsay feel better about the entire situation. She knew that there was no one else he could compare her to and that this was a special moment that belonged completely to them and no one else. When Lindsay looked over at the clock on her nightstand she immediately jumped out of bed and slipped into her jeans, put on her discarded bra, and threw a random shirt over her head haphazardly. It was nearly two in the afternoon and Kim Kelly was due to come over any minute. The sudden rush of activity awoke Nick who blinked a few times in confusion and rubbed his eyes.

"What's the matter?" he asked cautiously, afraid that Lindsay might regret the previous night and send their relationship spiraling back into the tension that had been there before.

"Kim is gonna be here any minute!" Lindsay practically shrieked as she threw Nick's pants at his head. He did not understand why Kim knowing they had sex would be such a big deal, it was not like she would not find out by the end of the day anyways, but Nick did not argue and just shrugged his shoulders before putting his pants and t-shirt back on lazily, he was just finishing buckling his belt when they both heard a knock at the door.

Lindsay hurried to open the door and smiled sheepishly at Kim who immediately knew that something was different. The blonde arched an eyebrow and gave her best friend a slight smile as she tried to put her finger on it.

"Did you do something different to your hair?" Kim asked innocently as she brushed past Lindsay and made her way over to the sofa as if she lived there.

"No," Lindsay replied shyly and tucked her hair behind her ear sheepishly. Kim was about to guess again when Nick emerged from the hallway and gave her a slight wave.

"Hey, Kim," he greeted nonchalantly. Kim Kelly's jaw dropped and she turned her attention from Nick to Lindsay and back to Nick again.

"Hey…Nick," she regained her composure quickly and masked her complete shock at his presence. Kim knew that Lindsay knew better than to make up a lie about what had happened. There was no way that Nick would have been up early enough on a Saturday to have already come over to Lindsay's house and be ready to leave before Kim showed up for their scheduled "girl time". Besides, she was almost positive Nick had been wearing the same clothes the night before when she saw him at band practice. After an awkward few moments Nick ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh.

"Well, I had better get going, I think I'm supposed to be shooting hoops with Daniel," he made up an excuse to escape the knowing looks Kim kept sending his way. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows pleaded for him to leave so that she could grill Lindsay for every little detail and the last thing Nick wanted was to give Kim an excuse to drop the subtlety and straight up kick him out.

"Oh…okay, well…I'll see you later then?" Lindsay asked as her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shirt nervously. Nick gave her a sweet smile before kissing her softly on the temple and giving Kim a polite wave as he walked out the door.

"You slut!" Kim laughed and jumped up from the couch to hug Lindsay tightly. "I want to hear all about it," she beamed. "Was he a sensitive lover, Lindsay?" she teased, making Lindsay blush a deep shade of crimson she had previously thought impossible.

"Kim!" she gasped and gave her friend a playful slap on the shoulder. "I don't want to talk about it," she replied in a hushed tone even though her parents were miles and miles away from the conversation.

"That bad, huh?" Kim asked with a mock pout and fell back onto the couch like a sack of potatoes.

"That's not what I meant!" Lindsay quickly corrected and sat down beside Kim, facing her friend slightly. "It was just…it was…did you know that Nick was a virgin?" she sorted through all the things she wanted to tell Kim.

"Psh…yeah!" Kim rolled her eyes. "Wasn't it obvious?" she asked with a slight sneer that Lindsay would have found offensive if she did not know her friend so well.

"Well…I didn't know," Lindsay confessed shyly and shrugged her shoulders as she focused her attention on her chipped red nail polish. "I think it made it more special…being a first time for both of us and all," she shrugged her shoulders. "Does that sound dumb?" she asked nervously as she looked up at Kim, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"No way," Kim gave Lindsay a reassuring smile and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "So tell me _everything_ that happened. I want all the gory details. I'll know if you've left anything out," she smiled brightly and waggled her eyebrows. Lindsay smiled shyly and chuckled nervously before recounting the events of the night before starting at the phone call and ending at the moment Kim knocked on the door.

At about the same time, Nick Andopolis found his friends at the park playing basketball. Well, Daniel was playing basketball and Ken was sitting on the picnic bench watching Daniel shoot hoops.

"Hey, guys," Nick greeted cheerfully and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"How'd it go last night, Loverboy?" Daniel teased and passed the taller boy the ball.

"I'm wearing the same thing you last saw me in, right?" Nick confessed sheepishly as he tossed the basketball through the hoop before recounting the events of the night before.


End file.
